


Satoday Night's Alright (For Fighting)

by jorlau



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra
Genre: Bigender Character, Canon Queer Character, Canon Queer Character of Color, Canon Queer Relationship, Established Relationship, F/F, F/M, Other, Post-Finale, Queer Themes, The Author Regrets Nothing, Transgender
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-07
Updated: 2015-02-08
Packaged: 2018-03-10 21:34:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3304265
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jorlau/pseuds/jorlau
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Slouching in the doorway was a slender young man in a rough cap and clothing that looked it could have belonged to a Fire Nation dock worker. He looked like the sort of tough, independent working-class boy so beloved of popular music and movers, the sort the youth wanted to be and their elders feared. He did not look at all like a wealthy businesswoman.</p><p>Shortly after their return from the Spirit World, Asami decides to tell Korra a secret. Featuring bigender!Asami and a little of Republic City's queer scene.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. In Which Korra Meets Kuzon

“Uuuugh,” Korra groaned loudly as she half-fell through the door of Asami's office.

“Oh, hey Korra,” Future Industries' CEO looked up from her desk, smiling sympathetically at the look on the Avatar's face. “Rough day?”

“I don't even want to talk about it,” Korra said, crossing the room and slumping down in the chair across from Asami. “What have you been up to?”

“Paperwork, mostly,” Asami said, closing the folder she had been working from. “I'm still not totally caught up. The trouble with vacations is that the rest of the world doesn't stop for them.”

“Tell me about it,” Korra sighed.

“It'll get better,” Asami said soothingly. “Everyone just needs some time to adjust, especially us. Now let's go get dinner, I'm starving.”

“Have I told you recently that you're a genius?” Korra asked, as they headed out into the twilight.

Asami laughed and reached out to take her hand, threading their fingers together. “Only an average of a little more than three times a day.”

“How about that you're sweet?”

“Twice a day.”

“Amazing?”

“Three times for that one, too. I have the exact numbers written down somewhere....”

“Can I see them?”

“Sure. But after dinner.”

“Fine by me.”

 

“I don't believe these numbers,” Korra said eventually, frowning at the neat page of figures in front of her. “Do I really call you snazzy every other day?”

They were in Asami's bedroom, where the engineer had unearthed a small black notebook from the recesses of a cluttered drawer to show her tally marks to Korra, and was now sitting casually on the bed watching with an amused expression as her girlfriend studied the meticulous notes.

“As of last night's reckoning, yes. I think it's cute,” Asami laughed.

“Also, why no 'I love you' column?” Korra looked up accusingly. “I say that all the time!”

“Keeping records of that one would feel... unromantic,” Asami flushed slightly. “Besides, I say that at least as often as you do.”

“That's true,” Korra smiled warmly at her. “I love you, by the way.”

“I love you too,” Asami returned the smile with equal warmth.

“What else do you keep track of in here?” Korra asked, indicating the book in her hands.

“All sorts of stuff. You'll probably like this part,” Asami took the book and turned over a few pages, then handed it back with a mischievous grin.

There was a pause while Korra thumbed through the pages. Then she said, slowly, “Wait, is this a–“ she counted quickly “–five-page list of things you like about me?”

“I add to that one a lot,” Asami admitted.

“You've got me pouting on here twice,” said Korra after a while.

“Three times, actually,” Asami corrected her. “It's just too cute to only count once.”

“And I feel like I ought to be offended that you put my breasts before my biceps, though I guess I am a little out of shape still....”

“I wrote that while you were away,” Asami said, a touch defensively. “I was trying _not_ to think about anything too... embarrassing, and then when I couldn't help myself I figured I might as well just get it out of my system....”

“Did it work?” Korra said with a roguish smile that showed the question was purely rhetorical.

“No comment,” Asami said, poker-faced.

“My eyes are up here,” Korra grinned. “I know they're lower on your list, but come on.”

“And the look on your face right now is number four overall,” Asami leaned in to kiss Korra's cheek. “Anyway, the list isn't really ordered. I just add things as I think of them, or as I find out about them.”

“I'm not actually complaining,” Korra said, setting down the book and pulling Asami in for a hug. “I just think you making notes on all of these things is adorably ridiculous.”

“I'm going to pretend to believe you mean ridiculously adorable,” Asami snuggled up to Korra with a contented sigh.

“That, too,” Korra said agreeably.

They rested against each other in a peaceful silence for a while. Then Asami shifted uneasily, and said, “Korra, I....”

“What's wrong?” Korra asked, looking at her girlfriend's face with some concern.

“There's something I want to tell you about,” Asami began hesitantly. “I don't quite know where to start, but... um....”

Korra's face was a mask of concerned confusion as Asami stuttered, reddened, and finally fell silent. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I just – this isn't something I've ever talked about like, uh, like this. Can you wait in the other room? I think I'd better just show you.” Asami looked at Korra, her eyes at once pleading and apologetic.

“Sure,” Korra replied, mystified.

 

Half an hour later, Korra was lounging on the sofa in the living room of Asami's small, barely-lived-in apartment, kicking her heels idly in the air and trying not to worry about what Asami might be getting up to, when the door opened. The Avatar sat up, and her jaw dropped.

Slouching in the doorway was a slender young man in a rough cap and clothing that looked it could have belonged to a Fire Nation dock worker. He looked like the sort of tough, independent working-class boy so beloved of popular music and movers, the sort the youth wanted to be and their elders feared. He did not look at all like a wealthy businesswoman.

“Asami,” Korra began, dazed. “You look–“

“Different?”

“Uh, yeah,” Korra blushed. “I mean – wow.”

“It's... I figured out when I was about fifteen – you know, there are a lot of places I couldn't really go, things I couldn't do because of who my dad was, because it would be scandalous or dangerous if anyone recognized me. So I came up with this. Nobody would recognize prissy little Miss Sato–” with a mischievous wink that made Korra blush again “–looking like this. Nobody would believe I could pass as a boy.”

Korra nodded, looking thoughtful. “What do you tell people your name is?”

“Kuzon.”

“That's what Aang called himself when he was in the Fire Nation during the war,” Korra said, raising her eyebrows.

“I know,” was the steady reply. “I'd been studying the war, and thought it was cleverly symbolic. I did say I was fifteen, right?”

“I'm not criticizing it. I think it's a good choice,” Korra said peaceably. She paused, and then added softly, “why did you want to tell me about this now?”

Kuzon – for Korra had no doubt whatsoever that this was who she was speaking with – looked down self-consciously, then spoke very quickly. “Because being Kuzon is a lot more to me than just sneaking into bars in the wrong part of town. And it's not just because people treat me differently. It's almost like there are two of me, and usually Asami's the one driving and Kuzon's the passenger, but sometimes I – we – switch. Keeping something that important from you wouldn't feel right.” He looked up, face red but determined, and met Korra's eyes squarely. “I love you. I want you to know all of me.”

“I love you too,” Korra said, and smiled warmly. “Thanks for trusting me with this.”

Kuzon's answering smile seemed to light up the whole room. “I'd trust you with anything.”

“Does that mean you'll tell me more about your scandalous adventures when you were fifteen?” Korra asked hopefully, and Kuzon laughed.

“Actually,” he began, “the most scandalous adventure I ever had was when I was sixteen, a little after my first girlfriend dumped me....”


	2. In Which They Have a Brawl

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Korra tries to cheer Kuzon up. Hijinks ensue, and Mako gets suspicious.

The day after Asami introduced Korra to Kuzon, the Avatar was called away to help handle what the world leaders collectively termed a “situation” in the former Earth Kingdom. Asami stayed behind, working feverishly on the design and construction work that had swamped Future Industries since Kuvira's attack. (She was endlessly glad that she had put so much effort into building her workforce's morale the last time she had been called on to rebuild the city; without her employees' fierce loyalty, she felt sure the company would be buckling under the strain.)

It was nearly a month before Korra and Asami saw each other again, and that was at a party put on by the President in an effort to raise funds for the reconstruction efforts. Korra found the whole thing distasteful, but when faced with the argument that the Avatar's presence might draw some rich people who otherwise would not show up, she grudgingly agreed to go.

Korra was standing in the city hall's main corridor engaged in a debate with two prosperous businessmen who appeared to have attended for the sole purpose of complaining to her about the terrible job she was doing as the Avatar (which technically meant that her presence had the desired effect, but was distinctly unpleasant nevertheless), when she noticed Asami quietly heading for a side door. Frowning, the Avatar extricated herself from between the whining tycoons and followed her girlfriend out of the room and around a couple of corners to an empty passageway. There the businesswoman stopped by a tall window, leaning against it as if fatigued.

“Asami?” Korra asked, concerned.

Asami turned to look at her, smile welcoming but stiff. As soon as Korra saw the expression in the engineer's beautiful green eyes, she knew. She moved forward quickly to embrace her partner.

“Kuzon,” she said softly into his ear.

He tensed momentarily, then melted against her, hugging her tightly.” I missed you, Korra,” he mumbled.

“I missed you too,” Korra said, stroking his hair gently.

“How did you know it was me?” Kuzon whispered.

Korra shrugged as best as she could without loosening her hold on the engineer. “I guessed. It's probably something to do with your energy, but you know I'm not actually that good at consciously doing spiritual stuff.”

“Well, thanks,” he said, releasing her after a last squeeze. “I feel a lot better just knowing that you know. I haven't felt this _wrong_ for an event like this in a long time.”

“Do you want to go do something else afterwards?” Korra suggested. “You could show me some of those places you told me about.”

“You want to see them?” Kuzon asked, sounding surprised.

“I'd like a break from Avatar stuff, honestly,” Korra said.

“You're... pretty recognizable, these days,” Kuzon pointed out.

“I think I still know how to go undercover,” Korra said defensively.

“Okay,” Kuzon's smile was bright. “We'll do it. I'll show you a side of this city I can guarantee you've never seen before.”

“Sounds great,” Korra returned his smile. “When we're done here, all right?”

“It's a date,” Kuzon said. He stepped away from the window. “Come on, let's get back inside before anyone comes looking for us.”

 

That was how, early the next morning, Korra wound up staring determinedly at her feet while a very agitated Mako, who had showed up at the crack of dawn and demanded to speak to her alone, interrogated her.

“What were you even doing in that bar?” he demanded, running his fingers through his hair.

_Kuzon had taken her to one of his old haunts, a dive in the inland part of the city that was run by the Terra Triad. It was loud and dirty, full of a motley of odd-looking people ranging from beautiful women in slinky dresses and flashy makeup to people of indeterminate gender who seemed to be clad entirely in metal and leather to men even rougher-looking than Kuzon. Korra had never seen more improbable hair colors in one room before. A lot of people looked up as they walked in; some looked interested, others suspicious, and a few immediately approached to greet Kuzon and demand, with varying levels of hostility, to know where he had been for so long and who his “new friend” was. Korra liked the place immediately._

“I didn't exactly sample Republic City's nightlife before, you know,” Korra said.

“Yes, but that place!”

“A friend told me about it,” Korra said evasively.

“A friend,” Mako repeated.

“Yes,” Korra snapped. “Come on, Mako, what's bothering you?”

“I took a statement from a woman last night, called herself Killer,” Mako said, voice level and menacing. “She says you went there with a guy named Kuzon. Says you danced with him for hours.”

“What if I did?” Korra responded warily.

“You went to the Spirit World with Asami, you two were thick as thieves before you had to go to the Earth Kingdom, and now you're back and you go out dancing with some guy?”

Realization dawned, and Korra had to fight to keep a straight face. “Mako, I promise you, Asami knew where I was last night, and who I went there with. She, uh, she introduced me to him.”

“Killer said he was all over you....” Mako sounded skeptical.

“Asami knows everything that happened last night,” Korra said. “She's fine with it. Believe me, I'm not going to mess things up with her if I can possibly help it.”

“Uh-huh,” Mako still sounded dubious. “You want to tell me how the fight started?”

_They had been resting on a low bench against one of the walls, watching the crowd and talking to one of Kuzon's old friends, a nice woman called Mei who, while completely not buying Korra's claim to be a recent arrival from the former Earth Kingdom who had happened to meet Kuzon the other day, seemed completely happy to meet her anyway, when they were confronted by an aggressive young woman who seemed to resent the level of attention Kuzon had been receiving since his arrival_

_Kuzon later told Korra, somewhat shamefacedly, that he knew he shouldn't have accepted the challenge, especially not when the tough had four friends flanking her. “The thing is, it used to be nobody would dare cross me, because they all knew I was a better fighter than any of them. I guess my pride was hurt,” he said ruefully. Korra suspected the fact that the challenger had been deliberately hitting on her had probably contributed, judging by the possessive way Kuzon's arm circled her waist after the fight was over, but she decided not to comment on that._

“Someone picked a fight with Kuzon,” Korra said, face carefully blank. “He fought back, and some of us decided to help him out.”

Mako shook his head. “You're lucky nobody but me recognized you. Getting into that brawl was the stupidest thing you've done in a long time.”

“Yeah, thanks for not telling anyone who I was,” Korra said. “I owe you one. I'll be more careful next time. Now can I please go back to bed? I'm really tired.”

“Can't think why,” Mako muttered. “All right. But you'd _better_ be more careful next time.”

He left, sulkily, and Korra blearily turned to return to her room. She was intercepted almost immediately by Asami.

“What was that about?” Asami asked, worry evident in her voice.

“He recognized me, but not you,” Korra said. “Uh. I think he thinks I'm cheating on you. With you.”

Asami looked as though she wasn't sure whether to laugh or to be alarmed. “What did you tell him?”

“I said you'd introduced us,” Korra said, too tired to attempt to come up with a clearer way of saying that. “I said you knew everything that happened last night, and didn't have a problem with it....”

“Nicely done,” Asami said, laughing now. “Poor Mako.”

“At least he seems okay with the fact that we're dating,” Korra pointed out. “I wasn't sure he knew.” (They hadn't announced their relationship, mostly because they'd been so busy since returning from their Spirit World adventures that they hadn't gotten around to arranging to talk with the necessary people.)

“Neither was I,” Asami looked thoughtful. “I wonder how many of the others have figured it out.”

“No idea,” Korra yawned. “We should probably set up a time to talk to them all about it.”

“Yeah,” Asami agreed. She paused, and added. “Probably about Kuzon, too. I think I'm done keeping him a secret. Listen, I'm sorry about the fight. I was really not planning on that much excitement.”

“I had fun anyway,” Korra said honestly. “I'm glad we went.”

“Me too,” Asami smiled. “Thanks for suggesting it.”

“Asami?”

“Yes?”

_They were both on edge from the fight and worried about seeing Mako, and neither of them relaxed until they were safely back at Kuzon's place and had collapsed side by side on the sofa. Korra sighed with relief._

“ _Well, that was intense,” she said._

“ _You can say that again,” Kuzon agreed, wrapping his arms around her._

_They cuddled silently for a minute. Then Korra said, “Kuzon? Don't take this the wrong way, but... how many of those people have you slept with?”_

“ _Quite a few,” he said, his grip tightening slightly. “A long time ago.”_

“ _I know,” Korra said soothingly. “I'm not jealous. It's just – I had a feeling about some of those 'old friends', and two different people came up to me to talk about how good in bed you were.”_

_Kuzon's brow furrowed. “When was that?”_

“ _You were in the bathroom,” Korra explained._

“ _Oh,” Kuzon nodded, nonplussed._

“ _You seem to have a good reputation,” Korra said._

“ _I'll have to let you decide if I deserve it,” Kuzon's tone was suddenly flirtatious, and he shifted position suggestively. When she hesitated, he drew back. “Sorry. I didn't – I'm not trying to push you, I just thought maybe–“_

“ _It's not that,” Korra said hastily. “It's just – I know it sounds stupid, but for some reason I feel like I want you to be Asami the first time. After that, I don't think it will matter.”_

“ _Oh,” Kuzon relaxed. “Fair enough.”_

“You want to show me what those people were talking about now?” Korra asked hopefully.

“What, all of it?” Asami said, raising her eyebrows. “That's going to take a while.”

“We've got a lifetime,” Korra said. “Starting with today. You _do_ get weekends off, don't you?”

“Well,” Asami smirked. “I'll take today, anyway.”

 


End file.
